Isaiah 66:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He aims to convey the following: The Jewish people wronged Him and put to death the Author of Life; however, He rose from the dead, ascended to the Father in heaven, and His divine disciples made Him known, preaching to all, including those who wronged Him, urging them to repent, to find salvation through faith, and to receive the forgiveness of sins through holy baptism. Thus, Peter proclaimed, "And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance you did these things, as did also your rulers: repent therefore" (Acts 3:17, 19), "and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; for the promises is to you and to your children" (Acts 2:38-39). When Peter declared this, many came to believe, as recorded in the Acts of the holy Apostles, "on that day there were added to them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41). The apostles continued to build up the Israelites, drawing them to faith.

Then, after a time, both Judea and Jerusalem suffered the consequences of God's wrath after the faithful had entered and been called—the remnant. This He teaches, saying: "Before she bears, she gives birth; before the labor pains come, she shun and brings forth male children." Before tribulation arrived, and when Jerusalem was afflicted with intense labor pains due to the calamity of war, shun—before the danger came—and bring forth male children, a good and desirable birth, for it is more pleasant for those in labor to bear male children than others. Or perhaps the male child symbolizes that the people of Christ exhibit no weakness, but instead possess a courageous and vigorous spirit. The blessed Paul attests to this when he writes: "And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24).

He expresses awe at the magnitude of God's power, which accomplished so much, saying: Who has ever seen this? Though the earth gives birth in suffering in one day, and an entire nation emerges in that time, how much more did Zion bring forth her children. He asks, who has ever heard or seen a nation brought forth in a single day? Has a whole nation ever been born collectively? But behold, this is how Zion brought forth her children; the simultaneous addition of three thousand souls and their spiritual rebirth through faith and holy baptism can truly be seen as the conception and birth of an entire nation.

But I, says the Lord, declare this hope, which is also foretold by the holy prophets, and God promised her a multitude; yet you have not acknowledged me, asking: Is it not I who made her give birth and rendered her childless? How could He who has authority over it allow her to remain barren? Had she been willing to accept faith in Him before the nations, she would have been numerous and blessed; but due to her disobedience and stubbornness, she became barren while the land of the Gentiles produced a people far surpassing in number. This aligns with the proclamation of the divine prophet Isaiah, who addressed the Gentile church with the words: "Rejoice, you barren one, you who do not bear; break forth and cry, you who are not in labor, for the children of the desolate are more than the children of the married woman" (Isaiah 54:1).

Because Zion was in distress and gave birth to her sons. Yet I have granted this hope, and you have forgotten Me, says the Lord. Did I not create those who beget and those who do not bear fruit, says your God? When Jerusalem and its temple were called out in despair, after the siege and destruction, and when the foes of Christ, refusing to acknowledge God as King, faced eternal consequences for their sins and impurities, the Church gathered together in the name of the Lord, as the psalm proclaims, A man is born in her, and she gave birth before she was in anguish, before her pain began, and she bore a son.

This occurred not over a lengthy period, unlike the Jewish people who matured through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, but rather instantly with the proclamation of the gospel, the entire world conceived, was gripped by labor, and brought forth a son, whom Pharaoh and Herod sought to destroy, yet who was saved in Egypt through Moses and Christ. Likewise, Abraham and Isaac became fathers of sons, and Jacob had many sons, and he fathered a daughter, leading to his troubles. Yet, if the daughters of Zelophhad are to receive their father's inheritance in accordance with God's will, we must bear in mind that their father died for his transgressions without any sons, and Moses dared not make a declaration concerning them but entrusted the matter to the Lord, who instructed them to unite with their brothers. The book of Genesis reveals to us that when humanity began to multiply on the earth—an expansion always tainted by sin—and daughters were born to them, it was not angels who took them. Instead, it was the sons of God who fathered giants, or, as the Hebrew indicates, mighty ones.

Conversely, it is stated of the righteous: Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine within your house. Your children shall be like olive shoots around your table. Similarly, you shall see the offspring of your children. Thus, Zion, representing the remnant of Israel and the faith of the believing apostles, brought forth a son—the Lord and Savior—who emerged into the world in a manner unheard of, one not chronicled by any history or teacher, so that in a brief time, all nations embraced the faith, creating a singular Christian nation. As Paul notes, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. It is also written: All the nations of the earth shall worship before Him, for the Lord is King and He rules over the nations. For all the nations that You have made shall come and worship before You and glorify Your name. Concerning Him, Jacob proclaimed He is the expectation of the nations. The Psalmist adds, the hope of all the ends of the earth. Isaiah also spoke of Him, stating there shall be a root of Jesse, and His resting place shall be glorious. In Him shall the Gentiles hope, reflecting the fulfillment achieved by the Apostles as they obeyed the command: make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, that a new nation may arise, about which Psalm 21 exclaims: The heavens shall declare His righteousness to His people, to those born of Him. The Psalmist further conveys: The people who are created shall praise the Lord. This nation was established in a single day, illuminated by the Sun of Righteousness, as Scripture proclaims: The Lord shall be to you an everlasting light. May we consider the words indicating that a nation would rise together. Indeed, Zion endured labor and gave birth to her children, likely referring to the day when three thousand and five thousand from Judah believed. The book of Acts also notes that people from every nation under heaven were in Jerusalem, witnessing the wonders of God expressed in various tongues.

Returning to the Septuagint: I granted this expectation, and you did not remember Me, says the Lord. Did I not make the begetter and the barren, says your God? This is articulated more clearly in the Hebrew text, which aligns with other translations: Shall I, who cause others to bear, not myself give birth? says the Lord. Shall I, who cause others to bring forth, be barren? says the Lord your God, similar to what is elsewhere stated: Will He who planted the ear not hear? Or He who formed the eye not see? That is to say, He who created all from nothing can establish one portion of all nations as His Church. Furthermore, in Psalm 28, where it declares: The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Hebrew expresses: The voice of the Lord enables the forsaken to bear, so that the Church, previously forsaken, might be brought forth and the hunted produce young in the open, desolate lands. According to the Septuagint, there is also the depiction that during one time under the Gospel proclamation, a single nation will emerge throughout the world. I have often made promises through many prophets, but you have not remembered My promise, you city full of outcries, you forsaken temple of the Lord, you people to whom I have rendered recompense. Did I not create her who endured labor and gave birth, who was barren before but then bore? It is said of her in the Psalms, Bringing the barren woman into the home, the joyful mother of children. Or the sequence of events may be inverted: she who once gave birth may now be barren, and she who was formerly barren now brings forth many, for this is the will of the Lord.

On earth, at the virginal altar, as a bridegroom, He was united with Adam in an indissoluble bond, while she preserved her maternal purity pure and untouched. He was born in heaven incorruptible and was also born incorruptibly on earth.